Over the last two Tuesdays I have shown coins from my collection as part of TinyTuesday challenge.  Today I went to see this priceless collection of tiny coins in the National Museum of Scotland.

In 1933 some workmen in Falkirk discovered a jar with remains of a cloth stuffed inside and as the jar was lifted up hundreds of tiny coins fell out. 1925 Roman coins were identified, one of which was over 2000 years old minted in 83 BC with the latest dating from 230 AD.   Apart from a Greek coin all of the coins were Roman denarii and appeared to have been in use for a while as many showed evidence of wear.  It would seem that the hoard was hidden about 240 or 250 AD a while after the Romans had left Scotland and probably hidden by a native who had no opportunity to retrieve the treasure trove which might have been accumulated by his family over many years. The Romans sometimes gave a ‘subsidy’ or bribe to the local chief to keep the peace in the area just north of its frontier of Hadrian’s Wall as it was cheaper than military action.   This vast collection of tiny coins would be equivalent to 10 years pay for an ordinary soldier.
The coins found;
38BC - 68AD       59  coins
69AD - 98AD     540 coins
98AD - 138AD   474  coins  
139AD - 193AD  628 coins 
193AD - 230AD  224 coins